An active worker of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Tejpal Singh Nagar joined the saffron brigade in 2012 because of what he claims to be “its people friendly policies”.

Dadri’s new MLA, Tejpal Singh Nagar, is a man who loves to speak. A passion that has stood him well in public life, if his political record is anything to go by.

An active worker of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nagar joined the saffron brigade in 2012 because of what he claims to be “its people friendly policies”.

Nagar, 60, believes his former party never paid attention to the plight of the downtrodden, which he says is the reason for the BSP’s rout in the 2017 assembly polls. The newly elected MLA is a grassroots worker of the BJP and his hard work to mobilise people during the 2014 parliamentary elections was recognized by the party brass with an MLA ticket from Dadri.

A first-time candidate, Nagar made it to state’s legislative assembly with a margin of over 80,000 votes.

Nagar entered politics in 1973 when he was chosen general secretary of Mihir Bhoj PG College, Dadri, and held the post for a year. Later in 1974, the college students pushed him to contest elections due to his oratorial skills and he emerged as president of the college students union.

After completing graduation, Nagar joined his father, a farmer and helped the family in farming. However, his penchant for delivering speeches led him back to public life.

Nagar would accompany people of his village Akilpur when they went to get revenue work done in government offices.

“In those days, literacy was not good. Few people had the opportunity of having a formal education and I was one of them. My father would push me to help the locals and I would spend my days helping them. In 1991, I became a teacher in a semi government college, but remained in touch with people,” Nagar said.

In 1992, Nagar was also chosen as the president of Dadri’s cooperative association. Subsequently in 1995, Nagar was nominated as a member of the district panchayat committee and held the position till 2005.

Nagar did his masters in Hindi and History from MMH College in Ghaziabad. Prior to his nomination as MLA, Nagar was principal of Shri Sant Vinoba Inter College, Baidpura, Noida.

In the backdrop of his contribution towards education, Nagar was felicitated by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in 2008. Nagar said he joined the BJP only because the BSP could not do justice with the expectations of the people.

“We used to highlight issues with the party but were never given any attention. I did some introspection and joined the BJP in 2012. I worked like a common man and I was recognised for it. I believe the work I did for the 2014 parliamentary elections and the people’s welfare got noticed,” Nagar said.

Since his victory, Nagar’s house is packed with supporters and well-wishers. He has a son, who is a lawyer at the district courts in Surajpur.

He said, “I persuaded my son to become a lawyer. Dehati ke liye kanoon ki khabar rakhna zaroori hai. (For a villager, it is necessary to be well versed in law).”